


The Five Stages of Grief

by sociallyawkwardteen



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-17 17:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16520900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sociallyawkwardteen/pseuds/sociallyawkwardteen
Summary: As Arthur fell, Lewis realized that he didn't want Arthur dead, but he realized that too late.





	The Five Stages of Grief

"ARTHUR!" Lewis yelled as he heard Arthur hit the ground. Quickly, he flew down. Arthur had missed the stalagmite, but the fall was too high. There was no way he was alive.    
"L...Lewis?" Arthur called out weakly. Lewis was instantly kneeling beside Arthur, making his human face appear. 

“Lewis...you're here… I was looking for you…” Arthur coughed.

Lewis looked at Arthur in shock. It was obvious that Arthur was in a lot of pain. Something about how he was laying told Lewis that Arthur's spine was broken. Blood was oozing from a large gash on Arthur's head. Every time Arthur coughed, blood came out of his mouth. His ribs were likely broken and puncturing his lungs. 

“You were looking for me?” Lewis whispered, Arthur's words slowly clicking. 

“Of course..I was..You disappeared.” Arthur said. He looked up at Lewis with such… Relief? Joy? How could Arthur seem so happy to see him when he just dropped him off a cliff?

“I don't understand.” Lewis said.

“Lewis…” Arthur whispered, attempting to move his mangled left arm, “I missed you..” 

Lewis couldn't speak. He gently lifted Arthur into his arms and lap, holding him closer. This was all wrong. He was there for revenge, but Arthur didn't seem to remember what even happened. Not only that, but Arthur had been looking for him. Arthur had never wanted him dead. 

A fit of coughing from Arthur snapped Lewis out of his thoughts. He needed to get Arthur to a hospital! Lewis moved to pick Arthur up, maybe there was enough time to save him! 

“Lewis..” Arthur said softly.

Lewis froze, “Yes, Arthur?” 

Arthur lifted his left arm, which was horribly bent and barely functional, and touched Lewis’ face. It was almost real. An illusion with substance. Arthur missed the feeling of Lewis beside him, and now he was finally here. 

“...love you..” Arthur whispered, barely audible. 

Then Arthur's arm fell limp. 

“Arthur?” Lewis called gently, shaking Arthur slightly. Arthur remained still, eye open and staring blankly. Panic slowly formed in Lewis’ chest. 

“Arthur, no!” Lewis said, shaking more harshly. 

Was he? No! Arthur couldn't be..dead. 

“ARTHUR!” Lewis yelled, shaking Arthur roughly. 

No response. 

“No…this isn't…this can't be…” Lewis whispered as he pulled Arthur's body close. Tears fell from Lewis’ eye sockets. 

“This isn't what I wanted… This wasn't supposed to be like this…” Lewis said, gradually raising in volume. 

But he had wanted it to happen. He had wanted revenge. Arthur had killed him. It was justice. Wasn't it? He was justified in avenging his own death.

Wasn't he? 

Arthur had said his name, a single word, but he had said it with such shock and...relief? Why would he be relieved to see the person he killed? Why would he look for the person that he took out of the world?! How could he miss his victim?! 

It was all wrong. 

Arthur  _ had _ been looking. He only thought Lewis had disappeared. Arthur  _ had _ missed him. They had been best friends. Arthur  _ had _ loved. But he never got a chance to show it. 

And Lewis had killed him. 

The cave disappeared, fading into the inside of the empty semi-truck. He didn't have the will to maintain the cruel illusion anymore. 

Lewis stood silently, holding Arthur's body in his arms. The least he could do is make it so Arthur could get a proper burial. Arthur deserved that much. He carried Arthur out of the truck, unable to turn his eyes away from Arthur's face.

Stepping out of the truck, he saw a scene of chaos. Lance was holding a gun over that blue tree lady, there was a giant dog-like creature standing in front of Vivi, and Vivi was on the ground, clutching her left wrist. 

Vivi was clearly in great pain, but she still noticed Lewis and gasped. Her sound caught the creatures attention, causing it to look at Lewis. The creature growled intensely, as if it understood who Lewis was and what he did, and it moved between Vivi and Lewis. 

“What did you do?” Vivi whispered, staring at Arthur's body. Lewis couldn't face Vivi. Not like this. Not after what he just did. So he turned his face away. 

“Arthur?!” Lance called from where he was standing, having seen Arthur in Lewis’s arms. 

It was too much for Lewis. What could he say to ease their pain? There was nothing. He had murdered a nephew, a friend, a piece of a family. For what? Some petty sense of revenge? He'd heard that revenge is sweet, but there was no pleasure from this. Arthur hadn't deserved death. 

“I'm sorry.” Lewis whispered before placing Arthur gently on the ground and starting to fly off. 

Gunshots flew past Lewis as he left, plus quite a few curses aimed at him. But what was most painful was the cries he heard from Vivi. 

Lewis flew for hours, getting as far away as he could. But no matter how much space was between him and there, his guilt plagued him. He knew he deserved the guilt. What kind of monster murders his best friend? Didn't Arthur kill him? No, he couldn't have. There was an explanation. There had to be. 

But now Lewis would never hear it. 

Lewis landed in a dark forest. No one lived within several miles of where he was. He stood silently, a single deadbeat floating around him. It's small face was sad, and maybe even ashamed. 

What had he done? Arthur had been the only family Lance had. Vivi had had few friends other than him and Arthur. Even his own parents cared a lot about Arthur. Lewis had just ripped apart a life for no reason. At least...no good reason. 

Flames began to materialize around Lewis's feet. 

He was a horrible person. A murderer. Forgotten and alone with nothing but the crushing weight of guilt slowly killing him again. 

The fire increased in size, growing around Lewis. 

But most of all, Lewis was angry. 

He was almost fully engulfed in flames. 

Angry at himself.

Fire shot in all directions, catching onto every form of life and burning. Bright purple illuminating the forest in a burning brilliance of fury. The flames raged for hours, both outside and within Lewis’s heart. He had caused this. So much destruction, and it was all his fault. 

Why was he so stupid? Why didn’t he ever try to get an explanation from Arthur? If only Arthur had gotten the chance to explain himself. Then Lewis wouldn’t have taken unnecessary revenge. 

The flames slowly died as Lewis sat on the ground. It was no use. There was no getting Arthur back. He had been angry and blamed it all on Arthur without ever trying to understand. And now he would never understand. 

Never. 

Silently, Lewis faded, his cracked locket falling to the ground, lifeless. 

* * *

A year later, a spirit hovered in front of a gravestone.

“I’m sorry,” was all Lewis said before leaving to let Arthur rest. 


End file.
